President Putin really wants to fulfill Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s vision of Europe as a “common European home” from the Atlantic to the Pacific - from Paris to Vladivostok. That dream right now seems further away from fulfillment than in 1989.
The system of the blocs has disappeared and the Cold War has ended but most Russians feel the West is not interested in being a partner but an adversary. And they point out the West’s attitude towards their country and them has remained consistent even before Crimea.
But if its a choice now between deferring to the West or upholding Russia’s national interests - Putin has opted for the second choice. He really wants Russia to be part of Europe - but not at any price.
“President Putin really wants to fulfill Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s vision of Europe as a “common European home””
That vision, for BOTH Gorbachev, and Putin, came from Yuri Andropov, of all people. but, by the time he came to power, he was too old, and too ill, to put it into play himself.